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WELCOME to the Small Book Blog! I am a voracious reader. I love losing myself in books and cannot wait to read myself into my next adventure. It is because of this love for books that I created this blog. I want to share my passion of books with you! I hope you enjoy my recommendations and reviews. My goal is that they will lead you to a new book, series or author, that you can fall in love with and recommend to others as well.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick

I decided to read The Witches of Eastwick because of how
often the entertainment industry tries to recreate the story on the screen and
almost always fails. With that in mind I thought to myself, “This is going to
be a crazy, fantastical novel with witches, maybe a warlock or devil, what an
adventure. Eastwick has a magic pull that releases a woman’s femininity and
craft.” However, after reading it I can tell you that I was disappointed and
almost appalled at the book.

John Updike has a
great voice and way of writing. Updike creates a picturesque landscape with
vivid descriptions and a grittiness that you can almost feel in your teeth,
with characters that are riddled with flaws and almost unbearably selfish.
Updike gives us expert, sparkling double meaning descriptions and dialog that
furthers the women’s movement. That said I could not identify, feel sorry for,
or even cheer on the three main witches of Eastwick this novel focuses its
story on (Suki, Jane and Alexandra). Beyond that I did not even like Suki, Jane
, Alexandra and Darrell Van Horne. The story is about them so that tells you
something. I was also sad that there was not much of a focus or storyline
regarding the witchyness of the witches. It was like Updike wanted them to be
witches so he could add in this one horrible plot twist (not giving you the
spoiler) and could not figure out how to do it without using the craft.

I would recommend
this book to readers who want to read a more classic novel or books that have
an almost feminine mystique meets 19th century writing meets beatnik
dialog. As a side note, I just watched
the movie The Witches of Eastwick
with Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeifer. I enjoyed it
much more than the novel. The witches were not as selfish, Darrel Van Horne was
the devil I wanted him to be, and it had the comedy and fantastical characters
I wanted to read that I think Updike just missed the mark on.

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About Me

I am a voracious reader. I love losing myself in books and cannot wait to read myself into my next adventure. It is because of this love for books that I created this blog. I want to share my passion of books with you! I hope you enjoy my recommendations and reviews. My goal is that they will lead you to a new book, series or author, that you can fall in love with and recommend to others as well.